Following the Christchurch massacre, Justice Minister Andrew Little announced a review of our hate speech laws. Little wants the review to focus on “whether our laws properly balance the issues of freedom of speech and hate speech”. He seems to want a bob each way on this question. On the one hand, he has defended free Read more
Some people are starting to ask hard questions about what will happen next. Will the nation just “move on”? “We will condemn this horrifying act of violence as extreme and out of the ordinary, we will come together as a nation and hold vigils, and we will try to move on from this tragic incident,” Read more
It’s often said that when America sneezes, the world gets a cold. In the time of Trump, it means we might worry that when America gets a little crazy, the rest of the world might go mad. In years past, New Zealand’s geographical isolation provided a measure of natural immunity to foreign viruses. Today, however, Read more
A provisional decision to disaffiliate ProLife Auckland from the Auckland University Students’ Association (AUSA) will not proceed after legal advice found the move to be unconstitutional and void. In August, an online referendum was held that contained a double question: “Should AUSA disaffiliate the ProLife Club and ban any clubs with similar ideology from affiliating in the Read more
Counter terrorism law and a trend of student “safe spaces” would see Jesus Christ banned from speaking at UK universities today, an Oxford professor says. Professor Timothy Garton Ash, a professor of European Studies, made this comment while warning that universities must “hold the line” against the “salami slicing” of free speech. At a festival in Read more
“The problem with defending free speech is that if you go to bat for the dead and heroic cartoonists of Charlie Hebdo, you also have to defend Hollywood’s right to make jokes about killing the leader of North Korea and a daft heavy metal band’s right to insult a chunk of the public simply because Read more
The Vatican’s newspaper has criticised an event in Texas featuring caricatures of Islam’s prophet Mohammed, at which there was violence. On Sunday, two gunmen, Elton Simpson and Nadir Soofi, allegedly shot and wounded a security guard near the Muhammad Art Exhibit and Contest at Garland, Texas. The two gunmen were subsequently killed by local police. Media Read more
France’s Catholic Church has refused to sign a media declaration that challenges faith groups to give unreserved support for free speech. The declaration, proposed by the group Reporters without Borders (RSF), came after French religious leaders last week backed free speech, but stated it had to be exercised responsibly. The issue comes in the wake Read more
The city of Houston has issued subpoenas demanding a group of pastors turn over any sermons dealing with homosexuality, gender identity or Annise Parker, the city’s first openly lesbian mayor. And those ministers who fail to comply could be held in contempt of court. “The city’s subpoena of sermons and other pastoral communications is both Read more
Companies are usually accountable to no one but their shareholders. Internet companies are a different breed. Because they traffic in speech — rather than, say, corn syrup or warplanes — they make decisions every day about what kind of expression is allowed where. And occasionally they come under pressure to explain how they decide, on Read more